Monday, January 31, 2011

The first race of the Coastal Carolina Off-Road Series (CCORS) is officially in the books. Let me start off by saying that just because the race is down east and close to the coast doesn't mean it will be flat and fast. The race took place in Havelock at the Piranha Pit on Cherry Point. The course was a six mile loop that was very deceiving. It was a great day for racing with the weather at sixty degrees and the start time of 2pm couldn't ask for better conditions.
I arrived about an hour before the race, got registered in the Single Speed Category and started prepping for the race. Once I was finally dressed in the Twin Six Metal race kit it was time to warm-up the engine for the eighteen miles ahead of me. Hooked up with a few guys from the Raleigh area and we rode about 2.5 miles of the course to get a feel for it since I had never been out there before. It was time for the racer's meeting to go over the rules and a general overview of what to look forward to in the course.

We finally get the race underway and it starts on a dirt road for about a quarter mile that we are riding down to sort of get everyone spaced out which didn't happen once we hit the woods. Just because some people think they are fast on the dirt road section doesn't transfer over well to the singletrack. The first 3 miles of the course was fairly flat and fast. Only thing slowing you down was the pinestraw that littered the ground which made taking the turns at times feel a little squirrelly. Then we got to the backside of the course that was along the river. This is where every momentum stopping root popped up at least every 10-20 yards or so it felt that way. If the roots were not on the way down the short hills they were definitely on the way up the hills. A few times it was like climbing stairs going up hill. Some of the drops going downhill were a good foot and a half to two feet that went into a turn and yes there were skid marks going off the trail where someone went in hot on the turn and over shot it. Once out of the rooty section it was fairly flat and then you popped out onto the dirtroad to ride the quarter mile up to the start/finish line and turn around to go back into woods. It was a good place to get some energy gel into you and some liquid.

I ended up coming across the finish line in 1:45:00 and grabbing the 3rd place finish in the single speed category. Great race and a great course that was not boring and kept me on my toes. Not to bad for the first race of the season since I have not been on the bike much in the last couple months because of the nasty weather we have been having.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Twin Six is an awesome company based out of Minneapolis, MN that makes the best jerseys and cycling inspired clothes in the world and I have the honor of racing for them this year. This year's team kit looks like this.

I am looking forward to donning the Metal kit this year and do some representing here in North Carolina for them. First race is next Sunday and looking forward to it. I will be rocking last years colors since I had purchased one of them since they were so bad-ass, along with a couple more of their other jerseys. You cna call me a Twin Six whore, I accept. When they make good stuff why buy anywhere else.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Well yesterday morning in the earlier hours of the adventure began. I was up early and out the door to pick The Fox up at 7 am to make our way to the race. We arrived at Little River Regional Park about 7:50am, jumped out picked up our race packets and got back in the car since it was only 28 degrees to wait for the races to start. We did our normal pre-race prep, from hydration, a few trips to the bathroom and some jogging to get the muscles warmed up. The 10 miler started at 9 am and the 7k started at 9:30 am. The race director gave the normal speech before each race about safety and passing people on the trail except this time a couple extra because of the snow/ice we have had. They were correct about the amount of snow and ice on the trail, and it was a lot more than I was expecting. A couple downhill sections you had to walk or you might take the quick trip sliding. This course is nothing but rolling hills and switchbacks with very few flat sections with the majority being on singletrack which gives very few places to pass. I can't complain about how I ran since I am not a runner. The entire time I was out there the only thing I was thinking about was I would rather be riding my mountain bike. We made our back to Raleigh and stopped off at the best burritos in town at Baja Burritos to refuel our bodies.

Our results went as followed: The Fox - 1:15:58 with a 7:36 pace/mile placing 14th out of 300.
Me - 36:30 with a 8:23 pace/mile placing 41st out of 153.

Friday, January 14, 2011

So my first trail race for 2011 and could be my last is the Little River Trail Race in the northern part of Durham County. This is a great race that has a 7k and 10 mile option. Since the last running race, well half of it was running and the other half bike that I have competed in was Muddy Buddy 2010. Figured no reason to go out and kill myself running the 10 miler instead I chose the 7k (4 miles). I have done this race in the past when it was 9 miles and it is a lung burner which any race is that starts at 9am in the middle of January. My good friend like a brother to me, "The Fox" as I will refer to him as in my posts will be out there with me. But, he is doing the 10 miler since he is the endurance running junkie and I am the endurance mountain bike junkie. Who knows how the trail will be since the temperature will be in the "why the hell are we out here" range. I guess with it being below freezing we do not have to worry about any muddy spots since it will be frozen. So, here is a look at forcast for tomorrow morning and we will see what our outcomes will be.

Monday, January 10, 2011

We are always trying to find something new to fix around here and something the kids will eat. So yesterday afternoon I did some searching on Food Network and found the mexican chicken stew recipe. Very simple recipe to fix and makes enough to have lunch leftovers to take to work the next day. I included everything except the jalapeno into the pot that way you can add what you want depending on how much heat you want. Great taste and even both of the kids enjoyed it, so it had to of been good. For the kids I took all the onions and tomatoes out of their bowls or they would have been complaining and picking at it. A great jedi mind trick was to add blue tortilla chips to their bowls since the recipe already called for sour cream.
All in all this recipe was very tasty and quick to put together and there was no complaining from anyone.

This is something I had wanted to start last year, but had put off until this year. Nothing like starting the New Year off with a ride. So, I went out to Umstead State Park this afternoon since all the mountain bike trails are closed from the snow that fell over Christmas. Well, the multi-use trails were sloppy and had the consistency of mashed potatoes at times that made the ride a grinder at times.

My weapon of choice for this ride was my new Vassago Fisticuff. What better way to break it in then on a day like today. Knocked-out 14.5 miles in one hour and ten minutes, which is not bad for the conditions considering my rides take 55 minutes to an hour in dry conditions. To my surprise there was a lot of people out there either riding, running or hiking.